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New Office Buildings Planned for Clarendon

By ARLnow.com

New details have been released about a major office development in Clarendon.

Real estate investment firm Penzance says it’s about to complete its final site plan filing with Arlington County for the block bordered by Washington Boulevard, 11th Street, N. Highland Street and N. Garfield Street. Penzance wants to turn the block — which currently contains a bank, a bar, a used car dealership, a cemetery monument manufacturer and other small businesses — into a 300,000 square foot office development, complete with a 10-story office building, an 8-story office building, ground-level retail and a four-level underground parking garage.

The development, Penzance says in a press release, is consistent with the Clarendon Sector Plan.

Penzance has completed the preliminary 4.1 site plan filing review process and is submitting this week its final filing with Arlington County for a 300,000 square foot office development in the bustling community of Clarendon. The project is bounded by N. Washington Boulevard, N. Garfield Street, N. Highland Street and N. 11th Street and has two addresses, 3001 and 3003 Washington Boulevard. The parcels that comprise the site were assembled by Penzance over the last few years.

“3001-3003 N. Washington Boulevard will be an important addition to both the vibrant Clarendon community and the R-B corridor,” said Victor K. Tolkan, Penzance managing partner and founder.

“Working with the architecture firm, Noritake Associates, our team has created a development that provides welcome commercial office with ground floor retail space in a predominately high-rise residential area to reinforce Clarendon’s status as a true live-work-play urban environment. The project conforms to the Arlington County Clarendon Sector Plan that calls for a building that steps back from N. Washington Boulevard and N. Highland Streets as well as maintaining and restoring two existing building facades identified by the sector plan to be preserved. The building design allows for a wide range of floorplate options for our potential tenants. Situated in the heart of Clarendon’s commercial district, this project will add to the vitality of what has long been Arlington’s ‘downtown’,” said Tolkan.

The development is designed to function as two separate buildings with shared common services, such as the 4-level below-grade parking deck and loading dock. 3001 N. Washington Boulevard will be a 10-story, 200,000 square foot office building with typical floor plates containing approximately 20,000 square feet. 3003 N. Washington will be an 8-story, 80,000 square foot office building with typical floor plates ranging from approximately 8,000 – 10,000 square feet. The two buildings with complementary and unique architectural details will feature approximately 28,000 square feet of ground floor retail space with an expansive sidewalk area to accommodate café tables and outdoor seating. 3001-3003 N. Washington Boulevard is being designed to a minimum standard of LEED Silver, working toward the highest designation possible. Pending County approval of the site plan, 3001-3003 N. Washington Boulevard is scheduled to break ground in spring of 2012. Jones Lang LaSalle has been retained to market the project.

Penzance has demonstrated its commitment to Arlington County for many years, owning and managing 1500 Wilson Boulevard in Rosslyn, 2000 N. 14th Street in Courthouse and developing in 2003, and owning and managing Ballston Gateway (3865 Wilson Boulevard), a 2010 TOBY award winner. The company also plays a leadership role in the County’s urban arts center, Artisphere, through its active involvement in the Rosslyn BID.

Another rendering of the new buildings, after the jump.

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Cadillac Crashes Into Lee Highway Beauty Salon

By ARLnow.com

The scene wasn’t pretty, but thankfully nobody was injured when a Cadillac crashed into a Lee Highway beauty salon this morning.

The crash happened just before 11:30 a.m., when an elderly female driver lost control of her vehicle in a strip mall parking lot. The car slammed through the front into Saira’s Beauty Salon, at 5117 Lee Highway, coming to rest partially inside the store. The driver then backed out of the store and into the parking lot, leaving broken glass, twisted metal and smashed bricks in the car’s wake.

Customers and employees were inside the store at the time, but nobody was hurt, including the driver. The store is currently without a door, windows and the front air conditioning unit. The Caddy suffered some scratches and a broken sunroof.

Morning Poll: Groupon Return Visits

By ARLnow.com

Now that Groupon appears poised to conduct a $1 billion initial public offering that will value the company at $20 billion, some have been questioning whether Groupon and other ‘daily deals’ web sites (like Living Social) are actually worthwhile for the businesses that offer the deals.

While consumers only see the great money-saving bargains — for instance, $40 worth of food at a local restaurant for $20 — merchants have to accept that running a Groupon-type deal is probably going to be a money-losing proposition in the short term. Since Groupon typically gives merchants 50 percent of its deal revenue, that means that Joe’s Restaurant is only receiving $10 for giving away $40 worth of food. Low-margin businesses like restaurants will often lose money on that — and the losses will add up, since Groupon can sell hundreds or even thousands of coupons at a time.

The silver lining for businesses that use Groupon — and the entire premise of ‘daily deals’ in general — is customer acquisition. The idea is that by getting a whole bunch of people to try your food (if you’re a restaurant) or services (if you’re, say, a yoga instructor) you can get a certain percentage of those deal purchasers to come back later and pay full price.

Very generally, businesses need about 10 percent to return to turn a money-losing deal into a money-making deal. But does that actually happen? The question is especially pertinent in Arlington, where lots of businesses have been trying out daily deals and where customers can simply jump from deal to deal, if they really wanted to.

If you’ve ever bought a daily deal (for a business you were not already patronizing) have you at some point returned to that business and paid full price?

Pricey Rent at Ballston Common Mall

By ARLnow.com

Interested in leasing space in Ballston Common Mall? Thanks to an item on the upcoming County Board agenda, we now know about how much it costs.

Arlington County leases a 3,119 square foot store, on the second floor near the entrance to Macy’s Furniture Gallery, to house the Woodmont Weavers program. The privately-run but publicly-funded program allows adults with cognitive disabilities to learn how to weave, to sell their creations (placemats, pillows, totes, scarves, hats, etc.) and to earn a wage in the process. The county subleases the space to St. Coletta of Greater Washington, which runs the program on behalf of the Department of Human Services, for a nominal $1 rent.

On Saturday the board is expected to approve a lease and sublease renewal for the mall storefront. According to the staff report, the base rent for the store from Nov. 1, 2011 to Oct. 31, 2012 will be $67,528.80 per year. Add in taxes and utilities, and the expected annual cost rises to $93,911.40.

In addition to the Woodmont Weavers program, the space is also subleased to Ellipse Handmade Crafts, which sells handmade items from local artists and utilizes some of the production space for classes and workshops when not in use by Woodmont. Ellipse pays the county $5,415.00 per year in rent.

We reported last year that the 25-year-old mall is in the early planning stages of a major renovation.

Photo via stcoletta.org

Boccato Gelato Expanding with Boccato Lounge

By ARLnow.com

When the adjacent El Chaparral Meat Market closed earlier this year, the owners of Boccato Gelato & Espresso in Clarendon (2719 Wilson Blvd) spotted an opportunity. They signed a lease for the space, and are now in the process of converting it into a bar/lounge.

The new “Boccato Lounge” will serve as a “place for families and the community to gather,” according to co-owner Cristian Velasco. Featuring beer, wine and live entertainment, the lounge will similar to Tryst in Adams Morgan — a hybrid coffee/alcohol hang-out spot.

Velasco says the lounge will allow Boccato to give its coffee and espresso program the attention it deserves, while giving customers more room to enjoy their drinks. There will, of course, be free WiFi.

The lounge will include a stage where local musicians will be able to perform and movies will be able to be screened. Velasco envisions Latin, jazz and bluegrass musicians taking the stage on some nights, and DJs performing on other nights. The rest of the lounge space will be able to accommodate various community uses, including yoga in the mornings, educational events during the day, salsa dancing at night and kids activities on weekends.

“Chill atmosphere, good music,” is how he summarized the concept.

Meanwhile, Velasco is busy opening a second Boccato Gelato on King Street in Old Town Alexandria. He expects the store to open in late June. No word yet on when Boccato Lounge may open.

H/t to John Fontain

Online Fundraiser Seeks New Router for Pike Coffee Shop

By ARLnow.com

Jason Gooljar, the technology director for a D.C.-based environmental non-profit, is on a mission.

Gooljar wants to raise $200 to get local, independent coffee shop Rappahannock Coffee & Roasting (2406 Columbia Pike) some new WiFi gear. It seems that the cafe’s existing wireless router is slow, outdated and can barely accommodate more than four simultaneous WiFi users. To remedy the situation, Gooljar is asking customers to make donations to help update the equipment.

“It’s a small coffee shop and the owners don’t make that much to be spending it on things like this but people are here all the time and we could benefit from a new router!” he wrote on ChipIn.com, a web site that helps users conduct grassroots fundraisers.

While we don’t doubt Gooljar’s sincerity — he said he’ll provide donors with a photo of him presenting the router to the store’s owners — we ask that potential contributors do their own due diligence before donating.

Photo via ChipIn.com

Moon-Linked Sheraton National Hotel Sold

By ARLnow.com

The 417-room Sheraton National Hotel has been sold to a Connecticut-based hotel investment firm.

The hotel, located just off of Columbia Pike at 900 S. Orme Street, had been owned by National Hospitality Corporation, a company linked to Sun Myung Moon’s Unification Church.

HEI Hotels and Resorts purchased an ownership interest in the hotel for an undisclosed sum. The company owns 39 hotels in 16 states, including the Sheraton Crystal City.

HEI plans to keep operating the hotel as a Sheraton.

Colony House Furniture to Become Hotel

By ARLnow.com

The Colony House Furniture store at 1700 Lee Highway is set to be torn down to make way for an extended stay hotel.

The recognizable building has been sold to the B.F. Saul Company, the Bethesda-based developer behind the recent Clarendon Center project. Last week representatives from Saul presented their redevelopment plan to the North Rosslyn Civic Association. Under the plan, an eight story extended stay hotel will be built on the 1.2 acre site at the corner of Lee Highway and N. Quinn Street. The hotel will include eight stories of guest rooms on top of two stories of above-ground parking.

(The parking must be built above ground since the site sits on solid rock. The building will technically be ten stories high from the Lee Highway side, but will only be considered eight stories due to the steep elevation near the rear of the site.)

Saul told residents that they’re in negotiations with two companies to operate the hotel — Marriott’s Residence Inn and Hilton’s Homewood Suites. They’re aiming for a LEED Silver certification for the building.

The company says zoning allows them to build an 88-room hotel on the site by right. Saul, however, will be seeking County Board approval later this year to build a 154-room hotel with 96 parking spaces. After presentations to the Rosslyn Business Improvement District, the North Rosslyn Civic Association, and three Colonial Village associations, Saul’s Mary Beth Avedesian says the company has yet to hear any neighbor opposition to the project.

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Italian Restaurant Coming to Columbia Pike

By ARLnow.com

A new Italian restaurant is coming to 3111 Columbia Pike.

Padrino’s Fine Italian Cuisine hopes to first open its doors at some point near the end of June, according to owner Sami Khan, who said he’s excited to be opening a restaurant on the Pike.

“This is a beautiful place,” he said of the still-developing strip.

Khan says he expects to hold a formal grand opening during the first week of July. Also in July, Padrino’s will seek a live entertainment permit from the County Board, to allow live music, karaoke and other forms of indoor entertainment.

Padrino’s expects to have its first internet presence — a Facebook page — within two weeks.

Khan’s previous Arlington restaurant attempt, Cleopatra’s Mediterranean Bistro, closed earlier this year. Khan said the small shopping center off Glebe Road that housed Cleopatra’s was not conducive to his business.

The former occupant of 3111 Columbia Pike, the hookah lounge/pool hall/nightclub/restaurant Club 31-11, closed in March after just a couple of months in business. We reported at the time that the club had neglected to apply for a live entertainment permit when it opened, thus making it a target of several police inspections.

Still Awaiting Construction at Trader Joe’s Site

By ARLnow.com

A liquor license application notice is taped to the window, but that’s just about the only sign of progress at the future Trader Joe’s on N. Highland Street in Clarendon.

Interior construction of the hotly-anticipated grocery store has yet to begin. In November a Trader Joe’s rep told the County Board that they hoped to have the store open by “mid-2011.” Now, that seems highly unlikely.

Reached for comment yesterday, all Trader Joe’s spokeswoman Alison Mochizuki could tell ARLnow.com is that the store is on track to open by the end of the year. She said the company never actually promised an earlier opening.

A closer look at construction permit applications reveals that the company only started applying for its permits last month. As of this writing, the building permit is still listed as ‘rejected’ due to numerous discrepancies. County inspectors have also rejected the store’s fire prevention, mechanical and plumbing plans.

We’ve reached out to an Arlington building official but have yet to hear back.

Jimmy John’s Coming to Ballston

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 10:55 a.m.) A Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches store is coming to Ballston.

The restaurant will be opening next to a new Sandy Spring bank branch at 550 N. Quincy Street, adjacent to the still under-construction Founders Square office development.

No word yet on an exact opening date for Jimmy John’s, but it just posted a help wanted ad on Craigslist yesterday. The restaurant is seeking sandwich makers, delivery drivers and bike delivery riders.

This is Arlington’s second Jimmy John’s location. The first restaurant opened in Crystal City in November.

H/t to @andrewdobos. An earlier, erroneous reference to Super Pollo has been removed.

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